How to Create a Mirror Chalkboard

On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a mirror chalkboard.  Okay, by now, I know you are singing that.  Today I am bringing you a new way to create a chalkboard, we are going to turn a mirror into a chalkboard.

About the same time we built our house, one of the hotels in our area were getting rid of some of their furniture and mirrors were on that list!  I was able to acquire 4 large framed mirrors and a few small unframed ones.  I used 2 of them in two of my bathrooms and the others have sat hidden behind the door in my spare room/exercise room.  I have used them off an on as decor.  They have had a home on my mantle and in my dining room.  But, you know.  I kind of got tired of being tied to a specific layout and using a singular decor item, so they got retired.  I wasn’t really sure what I should do with them until the other day.  I was running on my treadmill in my spare/exercise room and out of the corner of my eye I could see the mirror peeking out from behind the door.  It was staring at me, daring me to ignore it one more day.  My mind started to explore some options.  What I really wanted was a new chalkboard in my family room.  I had planned to just build one, but hadn’t found the time!  It is that time of year you know.  Then it dawned on me, why cant I just paint the mirror?  I wasn’t sure this was possible, so I googled it.  Sure enough, it was!  I quickly wrapped up my last mile on the treadmill and away I went.  Nothing is more motivation on a treadmill than a fun new project looming overhead.

The first thing I did was give the mirror a good cleaning.  It was dusty and icky from being ignored.

I mixed up some of my homemade chalkboard paint which is

1 cup latex paint

1/3 cup plaster of paris

3 tbsp water

You want to make sure you mix the plaster of paris and the water together and get rid of any lumps.  Then you will add this to the paint.

*A little word of warning, only make what you need!  Homemade chalkboard paint will dry out, even if kept in an airtight container. *

For a project like this foam brushes work great.  You know those cheap black 1 dollar brushes?  I put my first layer on, and tried not to panic.  This wasn’t looking to great yet.  I let that dry completely.  This paint does dry fast, so there is not a lot of downtime.

I added my second coat and things started to look better.  I let that dry.   Finally, a partial 3rd coat and the chalkboard was done.  I let this dry and cure overnight.

Once you are ready to use the mirror chalkboard, you must season it.  Just take a piece of chalk on its side and color in the whole board.  Then grab a clean cloth and start wiping away.  I like to give it a good cleaning with lots of elbow grease.  I am not a huge fan of the cloudy look that the seasoning gives.

Your chalkboard is ready to be used!  Since Christmas is just around the corner, and I can’t hardly wait to have the whole house seasoned up, I went with lovely Christmas art.  I free handed this, since it was too large to use any other method.  I found a quote that I wanted to use and looked up some fun chalkboard art and fonts.  I split the board into two sections.  I drew the arched semi circles first to make sure I had room for all the other elements.  Then I carefully filled it in.

There is something so therapeutic about creating chalkboard art.  It is so forgiving.  If it isn’t turning out like you want, you can simply dab it away with a wet paper towel.  With any chalkboard art I do, there is a good amount of this.  That is the beauty of it.  There is always a good amount of error in anything we do.  It’s how we learn.  It is how we grow.  Maybe one day I will be able to draw on a chalkboard without making any mistakes, but it doesn’t seem too likely.  For me, the process if just as important as the result.

But, if you just want a chalkboard, check these out:


 

Have a great day and remember…

Check out these other great projects:

Easy Chalkboard Advent Calendar

Vintage Green Chalkboard Wall for Fall

Trash to Treasure- Chalkboard Planter

Chalkboard Style Fall Wreath